Bitcoin searches for equilibrium at $70,000 while rising crude oil prices and tanking stock markets have investors worried over the future of inflation in the US.
Bitcoin’s (BTC) swift rejection from its $76,000 range high on Tuesday, and the subsequent sell-off below $70,000, raised concerns among traders that the bottom is not in for BTC.
Chartered market technician Aksel Kibar suggested that a bearish wedge pattern similar to the one seen from December 2025 to early January 2026 may be forming again.
Kibar said,
“Breakdown of the lower boundary will be the signal for a possible move towards $52.5K.”
Kibar also referenced an X social post from Jan. 18, 2026, where he explained that BTC would need to respect its year-long average as “part of the chop and search for a base.”
Kibar said that “the pattern can become a rising wedge, usually bearish in an attempt to test $73.7K-$76.5K support area.”
Bitcoin follows US stocks as high oil prices and rising inflation rock markets
Bitcoin’s tumble below $70,000 followed sharp selling in US stocks, where traders’ concerns over crude oil prices, the cost of the US and Israel-Iran war and its impact on inflation zapped investor confidence.
Related: Bitcoin vs gold shows potential bottom signals as BTC bulls defend $70K
In a post discussing how the current decisions by the Trump administration could impact inflation, The Kobeissi Letter said,
“The market now sees a 50% chance of a US Fed rate HIKE by the end of 2026. Just months ago, markets saw as many as four rate CUTS this year.”
In its BTC Options Weekly report, Glassnode analysts concluded that “Bitcoin has reintegrated its range after a short-lived deviation above the $75K level.”
The analysts explained that within the options market, Bitcoin’s “short gamma at $75K has been unwound.”
“Beneath the pullback, the breakout has lost momentum and range conditions are returning.”
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